NB features NZ

jtsoldier · Post by **jtsoldier** » Sat May 03, 2014 7:18 pm

Hi there...

So, last November this MX5 of mine showed up at the front gate. 2001 NB with bells and whistles.

My question goes something like this:
Which bells and whistles?

I suspect all the bits and pieces and stuff are supposed to be listed on the driver's door jamb with the VIN and Chassis number and all that other awesome stuff.

Under each category, it shows only --- (from which I infer it has absolutely no features). Despite this, it definitely has some of these - like power steering and ABS. Or I'm superstrong and the car is a filthy fucking liar.

So, is there any tricks to actually working out what the hell this thing has in it?

It came with 16x6.5 wheels and once raised, I noticed it has the underbody brace from what would be a sports package in the US... but I'm not sure what its presence actually means for a NZ New 2001. Did we chuck that brace into base model MX5's earlier than the 'States (apparently they only chucked that in the base models in 2003)?

Not sure whether to presume I have the other less obvious parts - sport-sized brake rotors, LSD, or any of these other features and just lack the indications on the door jamb like with the ABS/PS.

Or is it a base model just with the underbody bracing added some time later?

PS - Apologies, I'm sure this is a repeat post from something about 13 years ago when they came out, but I'm shit at search. Also, I'm drugged up on all sorts of shit (or I'd still be trying to search this forum, miata.net, mx5cartalk and every other forum relating to this little bundle of joy I have invested in, instead of getting all lazy and shit and asking you humble folk...) from having my face ripped open by a scalpel, so this probably makes no sense. I apologise for this also.

Angreal · Post by **Angreal** » Sat May 03, 2014 9:44 pm

Post some photos of it up of all the parts in question and I'm sure we can work our way through it.
Things like ABS are obvious, sports brakes are easy enough (front rotor is 10.6" I think and rears are close to 11"), a brace you can just take a photo of... Most of my car isn't original any more so I wouldn't exactly bank on a car being how it was built after 20 years

Junkwhale · Post by **Junkwhale** » Sat May 03, 2014 10:14 pm

It's pretty hard to track down anything definitive about NZ models, but it should be possible to figure out what extras are.

I'm pretty sure all 2001+ NB's got extra bracing underneath.

If it has the 16" OEM wheels, chances are it will have the larger sport brakes (should be easy enough to measure with the wheel off as Angreal said too).

What colour are the shocks? (if you rub off the road dirt/tar etc) If they'e bilsteins it should be easy to see the yellow paint and they'll be valved to what the US forums call 'Hard S' spec w/ 168ft/lbs front & 130 ft/lbs rear spring rates. If they're black they'll be the showa shocks with 162F/118R spring rates. The spring rate diff isn't really enough to notice, the difference is mostly in the shock valving.

5 or 6 spd? All 6 spd's came with a Torsen LSD afaik, so if it's 6spd it will have an LSD. If it's a 5 spd you might have to do some field testing and check how many wheels you can spin at once

jtsoldier · Post by **jtsoldier** » Sun May 04, 2014 11:24 am

Right, I'll get on this once I get a chance then.

The only thing I can recall from when I last swapped out the wheels is that the shocks were black... but then it could be 13 years of tar that got them that way...

The wheels are (read: were) definitely the 16inch OEM ones (I replaced them like-for-like with slightly wider aftermarket ones and new tyres... still R16s though). And the OEM tyre sizes and tyre pressures for that ARE listed on the door jamb (matching the factory manual).

5 or 6 spd? All 6 spd's came with a Torsen LSD afaik, so if it's 6spd it will have an LSD. If it's a 5 spd you might have to do some field testing and check how many wheels you can spin at once

It is 6 speed, so if you're correct, it should have a LSD. But perhaps I should do some testing just to make sure?

Things like ABS are obvious, sports brakes are easy enough (front rotor is 10.6" I think and rears are close to 11"), a brace you can just take a photo of...

I'm pretty sure all 2001+ NB's got extra bracing underneath.

If it has the 16" OEM wheels, chances are it will have the larger sport brakes (should be easy enough to measure with the wheel off as Angreal said too).

Cheers for the info. Will find myself my measuring tape and check that out.

Most of my car isn't original any more so I wouldn't exactly bank on a car being how it was built after 20 years

From what I've seen of your car on here, it is hardly the typical consumer's car, with the typical consumer's modifications!

Angreal · Post by **Angreal** » Sun May 04, 2014 12:32 pm

jtsoldier wrote:From what I've seen of your car on here, it is hardly the typical consumer's car, with the typical consumer's modifications!

Hah yeah... Post photos up of the engine bay and should be able to see what's different

jtsoldier · Post by **jtsoldier** » Mon May 19, 2014 6:02 pm

Alright, so took the car out to the middle of nowhere today (while I have time off..) and gave it a proper looksie...

Junkwhale wrote:I'm pretty sure all 2001+ NB's got extra bracing underneath.

Yeah, I'm fairly convinced they've all got the extra bracing too.

If it has the 16" OEM wheels, chances are it will have the larger sport brakes (should be easy enough to measure with the wheel off as Angreal said too).

In this case, think the chances went against me, though given I was measuring with a piece of string and putting the string beside a ruler, I might be a bit off... I'll try get a proper measurement when my gear from home turns up.

Seems much closer to 10" on the front. Maybe 10.2" max.? Closest MX5 rotor size I can find online is 255mm which is suspiciously close... Cheers anyway.

What colour are the shocks? [...]

Accidentally checked the colour of the springs while down there, and they're black, but one of the photos I took had the shocks part number[!] showing. Googled it - and they're not the Bilsteins.

5 or 6 spd? All 6 spd's came with a Torsen LSD afaik, so if it's 6spd it will have an LSD. If it's a 5 spd you might have to do some field testing and check how many wheels you can spin at once

OK, so this is the interesting one... It's definitely a 6spd, but given it has the smaller brakes, I'm gonna essentially assume it has an open diff - for now. Afterall, it shouldn't make any significant impact to daily driving, should it?

Anyway - knowing what I have, and what I don't have, certainly provides options for future modification pathways...

Cheers guys.
Much appreciated.

Junkwhale · Post by **Junkwhale** » Mon May 19, 2014 6:55 pm

If it's a 6 spd it has a torsen diff. I don't think in any market they sold the 6 spd with an open diff

jtsoldier · Post by **jtsoldier** » Tue May 20, 2014 12:08 pm

Being the knob I am, I tried to find evidence to the contrary.

JDM and US markets that definitely seems to be the case.

Don't know why we'd be any different.

Cheers.

Junkwhale · Post by **Junkwhale** » Tue May 20, 2014 12:32 pm

The Chch mazda dealer should be able to look up the vin/chassis number btw and tell you what options the car came with. The couple of times i've dealt with them they've been pretty helpful even though I wasnt buying anything.

I got them to look up mine as when I bought it the car's registration details said it was an auto - must have been an error as according to mazda it was a 6spd from the factory and has a 6spd now...

Angreal · Post by **Angreal** » Tue May 20, 2014 12:53 pm

I've never had the displeasure of driving anything with an open diff until I got my work ute. Hate open diffs, almost tempted to see if the Hilux has a torsen/clutch type swap

I do one wheel burnouts every time I park on gravel

jtsoldier · Post by **jtsoldier** » Tue May 20, 2014 4:55 pm

I actually reviewed my measurements on those bloody brakes:

10.0" front / 9.9" rear is what most seem to say for non-sport brakes,

For sports brakes, Keith Tanner's book says 11" front, 10.9" rear (which seems consistent with the FM site).

Brian Goodwin suggests here the sport brake measurements are:

FRONT 10.6
REAR 10.9

Which seems much more consistent with what I measured yesterday... my rear brake rotors are definitely the larger. Have my awesome calliper (the measuring kind!) being shipped up from 'down home' this week so will get a much better measurement soon.

If not, then I'll definitely take up your advice and call Mazda. Actually might do that anyway. Kills two birds with one stone...

Cheers.

EDIT: Angreal, I've never owned my own car before this, nor pushed any car to find its limits... I'm blissfully ignorant.

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